As she shrugs it off, my brain short-circuits.
The soft fabric of her black swimsuit is clinging to the curves I have spent far too much time not thinking about. The light from the house casts a golden glow over her skin, and my mouth goes dry.
I look away fast, shifting in my seat like that’ll somehow manage to keep myself in check but my cock is not playing along. He has been through hell this afternoon and now that Ivy and I are alone, he is taking control.
She takes a seat on the edge, dipping a toe in first before slowly sinking into the water opposite me. A small sigh escapes her lips as she relaxes against the edge, letting the warmth envelop her.
“This is nice,” she murmurs.
I clear my throat, forcing my brain to function. “Yeah. Peaceful.”
She tilts her head back, gazing up at the sky. “It’s amazing how many stars you can see out here. It’s nothing like London.”
I follow her gaze. She’s right. The sky out here is endless, speckled with stars so bright they almost don’t look real.
For a moment, we just sit there, the quiet stretching between us.
And I should leave it like that.
I should let this be nothing more than a peaceful, quiet moment between friends.
But I’m still too aware of her. The way the steam rises between us. The way the water shifts slightly every time she moves. The fact that if I stretched my leg even slightly, my knee would brush against hers.
I risk another glance at her, and for the first time tonight, she’s properly looking at me too.
And it’s different.
It’s not like before, not like the comfortable, easy looks we’ve shared a hundred times. There’s something charged about it, something that makes the air between us feel heavier.
Her lips part slightly, like she’s about to say something—
Then she blinks, looks away quickly, and rubs a hand over her arm, as if trying to shake whatever this is off.
I exhale slowly, running a hand through my damp hair, trying to ground myself. Trying to ignore the way my heart is pounding, the way my skin feels too warm, and not just from the water.
I should say something.
I should make a joke, cut through the tension, turn this back into what it should be—just a quiet moment between friends.
But before I can, something shifts.
I'm not sure who moves first.
Maybe she leans in. Maybe I do. Maybe it’s both, pulled together by something inevitable, something neither of us fully understands but neither of us wants to fight.
All I know is one second, we’re sitting there, barely breathing, too aware of the space between us.
And the next—
Her lips are on mine.
It’s soft at first, hesitant, like we’re both afraid to acknowledge what’s happening, afraid that the second we do, it’ll shatter.
But then she shifts closer, her hands finding my shoulders, her fingers pressing against my skin, and I lose every last thought in my head.
I kiss her back.
Properly.
